A couple days ago a neighbor purchased this '97 TJ 4.0L 5 speed w/ Dana 35 that supposedly has the original 64K miles as a daily driver for his girlfriend; he asked me to look at the Jeep to see what I thought.
By looking at the undercoating and bits of rust in certain areas (no rust holes) this Jeep was a not used much other than driving on the beach (what PO stated).
As I walked up to the Jeep I started asking him questions which the new owner had no answers.
At a distance of 30' the vehicle looks decent, but at you get closer the trained eye can start to identify problems.
The paint job has texture which may be a spray in bed liner and the paint may have been applied with a paint brush.
The Jeep has the larger width fender flairs to accommodate the Dick Cepek 33x12.5x15 MTs on ProComp rims and appears to have 4-6" of lift.
The lower control arms are fixed length curved with rubber bushings and the uppers are stock; not sure how the caster is adjusted or driveline vibrations are resolved.
The steering has the factory drag link and tie rod assembly, bump stops have rotted away and the exhaust is within 1" of tire tread.
I could not determine if the Dana 35 has a Super 35 kit, but still have the drum brakes.
The gas tank skid has holes eaten thru in a several areas.
There is a SYE installed with a DC driveshaft and has 1" spacers for the transfercase skid plate, unknown who made the SYE drive or shaft, but the slider splines for the driveshaft are extended approximately 6-8".
The winch is a Warn winch with hand held remote, but the wiring is routed and tie wrapped along the A/C hose, there is no fuse or overload inline and the negative side has a Frankenstein bar disconnect, the alternator is stock, the battery has 700CCA, cables are stock with terminal clamps in poor condition.
The front and rear bumpers are AEG, the new rear tire carrier is bolted to the cargo hatch which appears to be putting a lot of strain on the hinges.
The brake system was converted from ABS to regular, the proportioning valve was replaced along with the brake lines to the drums and calipers and new rubber lines.
The owner commented the speedometer is OFF by more than 10 mph and has no idea what gearing is in the differentials or whether the carriers are open or have traction devices.
The fuel injector rail and injectors were replaced, the fuel supply line was replaced with an aftermarket braided line probably due to fuel rail requiring a different fitting than the stock fuel fitting.
Unknown if the engine was rebuild or original; new owner didn't ask many questions about the Jeep.
His girlfriend owned a Jeep years ago that went up in a blaze of glory (unknown why) so the neighbor bought her this one because both of them liked the looks.
The Jeep comes with a hard top and soft top (in pieces) and the PO has a new seal on order for the rear glass. The original window was broken when the window wasn't latched and the Jeep was driven on the highway.
Now you are probably asking yourself how much the neighbor spent for this Jeep; the PO was asking $20,000 and that is what the neighbor paid without trying to talk the owner down, without taking the Jeep to a mechanic or asking a friend to come look at the Jeep.
I started to inform the neighbor the problems I identified, but his facial expression indicated he didn't appreciate my observations.
By looking at the undercoating and bits of rust in certain areas (no rust holes) this Jeep was a not used much other than driving on the beach (what PO stated).
As I walked up to the Jeep I started asking him questions which the new owner had no answers.
At a distance of 30' the vehicle looks decent, but at you get closer the trained eye can start to identify problems.
The paint job has texture which may be a spray in bed liner and the paint may have been applied with a paint brush.
The Jeep has the larger width fender flairs to accommodate the Dick Cepek 33x12.5x15 MTs on ProComp rims and appears to have 4-6" of lift.
The lower control arms are fixed length curved with rubber bushings and the uppers are stock; not sure how the caster is adjusted or driveline vibrations are resolved.
The steering has the factory drag link and tie rod assembly, bump stops have rotted away and the exhaust is within 1" of tire tread.
I could not determine if the Dana 35 has a Super 35 kit, but still have the drum brakes.
The gas tank skid has holes eaten thru in a several areas.
There is a SYE installed with a DC driveshaft and has 1" spacers for the transfercase skid plate, unknown who made the SYE drive or shaft, but the slider splines for the driveshaft are extended approximately 6-8".
The winch is a Warn winch with hand held remote, but the wiring is routed and tie wrapped along the A/C hose, there is no fuse or overload inline and the negative side has a Frankenstein bar disconnect, the alternator is stock, the battery has 700CCA, cables are stock with terminal clamps in poor condition.
The front and rear bumpers are AEG, the new rear tire carrier is bolted to the cargo hatch which appears to be putting a lot of strain on the hinges.
The brake system was converted from ABS to regular, the proportioning valve was replaced along with the brake lines to the drums and calipers and new rubber lines.
The owner commented the speedometer is OFF by more than 10 mph and has no idea what gearing is in the differentials or whether the carriers are open or have traction devices.
The fuel injector rail and injectors were replaced, the fuel supply line was replaced with an aftermarket braided line probably due to fuel rail requiring a different fitting than the stock fuel fitting.
Unknown if the engine was rebuild or original; new owner didn't ask many questions about the Jeep.
His girlfriend owned a Jeep years ago that went up in a blaze of glory (unknown why) so the neighbor bought her this one because both of them liked the looks.
The Jeep comes with a hard top and soft top (in pieces) and the PO has a new seal on order for the rear glass. The original window was broken when the window wasn't latched and the Jeep was driven on the highway.
Now you are probably asking yourself how much the neighbor spent for this Jeep; the PO was asking $20,000 and that is what the neighbor paid without trying to talk the owner down, without taking the Jeep to a mechanic or asking a friend to come look at the Jeep.
I started to inform the neighbor the problems I identified, but his facial expression indicated he didn't appreciate my observations.
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